RAMANATHAPURAM: Hundreds of boats did not venture into the sea as the fishermen's strike continued in Rameswaram for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. The fisherfolk have been staging the protest condemning the arrest of 27 fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy over the alleged violation of the IMBL, and pressing the union government to initiate a discussion with the Sri Lankan government to release the fishermen along with their fishing boats.
On Wednesday, hundreds of fishermen and their families gathered before the Rameswaram post office and raised slogans. Many family members' eyes welled up with tears when they spoke of their dear ones detained in the island nation. Leaders of a fishermen's association said the 27 men were apprehended and their boats seized by the SL Navy just a day after the tourist ferry service was launched between Nagapattinam and Sri Lanka. With the detained fishers' custody period ending on October 27, the associations also demanded the union government to take action toward releasing their seized boats.
"Several hundreds of boats seized by the SL Navy over the past couple of years still remain in their possession. Without their boats, the livelihood of this community is jeopardised. Moreover, the union government has failed to compensate the boat owners, whose boats were seized or got damaged mid-sea over the years," they added.
Owing to the indefinite strike, the fishing and related activities, especially export ventures, have come to a standstill in Rameswaram, leading to the failure of trade activities to the tune of crores of rupees. The fishermen's associations have also called for massive protests on November 1 if the boats are not released along with the detained fishermen.